Biography: William Abbe was born in Enfield, Connecticut on 5 July 1817. He married Caroline Markham (about 1826-before 1903), the daughter of Nathaniel, jr. and Abigail Smith Markham. They had two children: Katherine Cornelia (1851-1912) and William Arthur (b. 1858).
Family history lists William Abbe as a farmer in Enfield, Connecticut in 1850, but he turned to innkeeping within a few years. William Abbe's distant cousins had owned the Abbe Inn in Enfield. William Abbe subsequently acquired the property and moved the inn one house south to the old Field residence. He received a license in 1853 and began innkeeping in the old Field homestead. In 1856, William Abbe's establishment was listed as the "Lion Hotel" in the Connecticut Business Driectory. William Abbe continued as an innkeeper until his death on 8 June 1895, at which time his inn passed to his son, William Arthur Abbe.